Windchicken 2014

Got some sheet pots in from Grower Supply a couple days ago. I got this type so I could pull out the individual containers and replace them if need be, and they fit perfectly in my 11" x 22" Permanest Trays. Anybody in NW Louisiana need a couple of these? If I keep growing the same size garden every season these sheets should last me around 12 years:
 

 
These are the only C. chinense I'm growing this year: The NagaBrain, now in its F3 generation, is the happy accident of Florida THP mentor and all-around good guy romy6; seeds for the F2 Chocolate NagaBrain are from the talented and skillful Florida grower Tmudder; Bonda Ma Jacques x 7 Pot Yellow, the F3 generation, is the creation of the THP breeding wizard Spicegeist; Both 7 Pot Yellow and Naga Morich are from THSC seed; Dystopia is a project of North Texas grower joemomma; and Madame Jeanette comes courtesy of the incredibly generous Netherlands grower Meatfreak :
 

 

[PaulG]

Your grow is turning out really nice, Gary!  I'm waiting for my Bonda x yellow 7
to ripen up some real pods, but there are a few gnarly ones on it.  Not as long
as your samples, I think.
 
The Thai Basil hedge looks very cool.  Whenever I grow Basil, that's the kind I grow.  
I love the strong licorice scent and flavor my variety has.  Don't know what it is, just
some commercial seed.

 

[windchicken]

Gary you're riding that Nu-Mex wave high and mighty ! Awesome pod  size and quantities on the plants. You might have to rig up one of those wire cage roto  roasters for the grill . I can see all those "Jims, Anaheims, Lumbre's and Hatch.....(if you grow them) blistering over the lump charcoal.

 
Thanks, Greg! Richard (chileaddict) is the culprit responsible for my New Mexico chile addiction…A couple of times he's sent me care packages from his annual Hatch, NM pilgrimage, and I now I'm hooked…. I grew a few plants of 6-4 last year and got enough pods to grill on my Weber a couple times…That aroma is maddeningly enticing to me—almost narcotic. No matter how many plants I grow, it's never enough. (Thanks a whole freaking lot, Richard!      )
 

Nice plants and pods. Super healthy looking. 

 
Thanks Ronnie!
 

Your grow is turning out really nice, Gary!  I'm waiting for my Bonda x yellow 7
to ripen up some real pods, but there are a few gnarly ones on it.  Not as long
as your samples, I think.
 
The Thai Basil hedge looks very cool.  Whenever I grow Basil, that's the kind I grow.  
I love the strong licorice scent and flavor my variety has.  Don't know what it is, just
some commercial seed.

 
Thanks PG! It's interesting that you mention that Thai Basil—This year I started several extra of those plants, along with several plants of your Peruvian Market Aji Amarillo, for my brother, who really loves both of those…Saturday I went by his house, and he had made Thai Basil Pesto and stuffed it in nice ripe pods of Aji Amarillo. Sweet hell it was good. I ate the whole plate, about 7 or 8 big pods.
 
Now I'm about to prune my basil hedge severely and take the cuttings over to his house…  The bees and hummingbirds will wonder "WTF?", but there will be more flowers in a couple days or so….

 

[PaulG]

Thanks PG! It's interesting that you mention that Thai Basil—This year I started several extra of those plants, along with several plants of your Peruvian Market Aji Amarillo, for my brother, who really loves both of those…Saturday I went by his house, and he had made Thai Basil Pesto and stuffed it in nice ripe pods of Aji Amarillo. Sweet hell it was good. I ate the whole plate, about 7 or 8 big pods.
 
Now I'm about to prune my basil hedge severely and take the cuttings over to his house…  The bees and hummingbirds will wonder "WTF?", but there will be more flowers in a couple days or so….

That sounds awesome, Gary - I should have enough pods to try that!
Did he bake the pods?  325˚, 25 minutes?  Even fresh they would
be awesome and crunchy.
 
The straight peruvian seed plant is a skyrocket.  I measured the
new branches that shot up from the base at 6' even today, and
still shooting up and spreading.  Where the Ajis and Manzano
grow up into the red osier dogwood it's like a jungle - ahi pods
and manzanos hanging in the foliage and you can hardly tell
one plant from the others!.  So cool, but hard to photograph the
plants      I'll have to wait until the pods color up and then take
a pic of the whole mass!

 

[capsidadburn]

Gary, Those annuum's are good looking enough to smell from here!  I'm on my way to buy some Hatch from the local store!  Your Siam Thai basil hedge is very cool!  Does it come back each year or do you just plant new?  Big Jim's 25 rows next year!
 
Cool!

 

[Devv]

Very nice Gary! Can't have a pepper garden without the Annuum's! They sure do fill in all the blanks eh?
 
What's that big tank? That would make a Man sized pit for sure!
 
Keep it green!

 

[chileaddict]

Amazing pics Gary! So glad you planted some of those beauties. Nothing quite like the smell in the air of chiles roasting late summer and fall. Not sure if I will make the trip to Hatch this year since I still have so many left. I am working on a way to surprise you anyway. Keep up the great work Master Farmer!

 

[GA Growhead]

Yeah Gary! Looking good.
Big Jim's like mad!
I only had one big Jim make it thru germ time.
I did get a couple lumbre going based on your word. Looking forward to those pods!

 

[windchicken]

That sounds awesome, Gary - I should have enough pods to try that!
Did he bake the pods?  325˚, 25 minutes?  Even fresh they would
be awesome and crunchy.
 
The straight peruvian seed plant is a skyrocket.  I measured the
new branches that shot up from the base at 6' even today, and
still shooting up and spreading.  Where the Ajis and Manzano
grow up into the red osier dogwood it's like a jungle - ahi pods
and manzanos hanging in the foliage and you can hardly tell
one plant from the others!.  So cool, but hard to photograph the
plants      I'll have to wait until the pods color up and then take
a pic of the whole mass!

 
The pods were raw. As far as I could tell about the pesto, it was the basic ground basil leaves with olive oil, feta, and walnuts…I'm salivating just thinking about it!
 
Wow, 6 foot plants! Nice! I love growing those tall Aji Amarillo plants. They are some towering things, and those massive pods! Mine would get huge, dark green leaves, as well…So fun to grow, but it's such a total roll of the dice for me to have a fall season long enough to produce ripe pods. Maybe about every third year the weather will cooperate. Your variety works much better here in Northwest Louisiana….I'm excited to see your big chile trees!
 
 

Gary, Those annuum's are good looking enough to smell from here!  I'm on my way to buy some Hatch from the local store!  Your Siam Thai basil hedge is very cool!  Does it come back each year or do you just plant new?  Big Jim's 25 rows next year!
 
Cool!

 
Lol, thanks Mike! I had a feeling you were a New Mexico chile brother!
 
Even though I get a ton of volunteer basil all over my back yard every year, I like to start seeds early under the grow lights anyway. The plants get much larger sooner, and I can place them exactly where I want them.
 
I had a BOC at lunch today—That's a really excellent pepper. I love the high sugar content and the nice clean palate and aroma. For a super hot, it has real "nobel" character. Thanks so much for turning me onto it! Now I've got to make room for more damn super hots, though!
 

Very nice Gary! Can't have a pepper garden without the Annuum's! They sure do fill in all the blanks eh?
 
What's that big tank? That would make a Man sized pit for sure!
 
Keep it green!

 
Thanks Scott! There's something deeply gratifying about long, lush rows of Mexican chile plants to me. Also, I just really love the flavor and aroma of the Mexico and New Mexico chiles. I still need my super hots for my sinus medication for that nice "bump", though...
 
That's a old disused salt water tank…We can never seem to get rid of those things, even after we replace them. Now those pines have grown up around that one, so it will be there for at least another 10 years or so, when they harvest those trees….
 

Amazing pics Gary! So glad you planted some of those beauties. Nothing quite like the smell in the air of chiles roasting late summer and fall. Not sure if I will make the trip to Hatch this year since I still have so many left. I am working on a way to surprise you anyway. Keep up the great work Master Farmer!

 
Thanks so much Richard! I'm looking forward to my surprise 
 

Yeah Gary! Looking good.
Big Jim's like mad!
I only had one big Jim make it thru germ time.
I did get a couple lumbre going based on your word. Looking forward to those pods!

 
Hey Jason! I think you'll like Lumbre…I normally use New Mexico chile green, but I love to let Lumbre go all the way red. You get that nice Mexican sweetness with the nice solid kick behind it. If I dry them in my food dehy they seem to get even sweeter, with a wonderful toasty, caramelly flavor and aroma. Hey, thanks so much for bringing the BOC to the game—That's a truly wonderful super hot. Check my comments to Mike F. above…Thanks for stopping by!

 

[Datil]

Awesome annuum patch Gary!!

Cya

Datil

 

[GA Growhead]

BOCs are top notch on flavor and heat. Glad Mike pushed some seeds to you!

 

[windchicken]

Awesome annuum patch Gary!!

Cya

Datil

 
Thanks Fabrizio!
 

BOCs are top notch on flavor and heat. Glad Mike pushed some seeds to you!

 
   

 

[ronniedeb]

How you getting on?

 

[PaulG]

Ditto #412

 

[windchicken]

Thanks Ronnie and Paul! It's been a tough few weeks, but it's something almost everyone has to got through, sooner or later….
 
The garden is doing well—The late summer heat finally broke around the end of September, and my plants are podding up nicely. It looks like the rock stars this year will be: Big Jim, New Mexico 6-4, Zapotec Jalapeño, Doux Très Long des Landes, "Chubby" var of Chile de Arbol (amazing huge trees), Chilhuacle Rojo, Carlos' Long Pequins, Texas Pequin (a 9-plant chile hedge), Aji Chuncho, NagaBrain Red, NagaBrain Yellow, and the real nice surprise that stuck it out to the end of the season are the 6 plants of Spicegeist's Bonda Ma Jacques x 7 Pot Yellow. I've also got a couple of real interesting F2 plants of Spicegeist's Sonoran Chiltepin x Barrackpore 7 Pot—One plant is making little smooth pods I call "Barrackpore Pequins" and the other ones look and taste like miniature 7 Pots—I call them "Baby Barrackpores."
 
I'll get some pix up soon. Thanks so much for asking guys!

 

[PaulG]

Thanks Ronnie and Paul! It's been a tough few weeks, but it's something almost everyone has to got through, sooner or later….
 
The garden is doing well—The late summer heat finally broke around the end of September, and my plants are podding up nicely. It looks like the rock stars this year will be: Big Jim, New Mexico 6-4, Zapotec Jalapeño, Doux Très Long des Landes, "Chubby" var of Chile de Arbol (amazing huge trees), Chilhuacle Rojo, Carlos' Long Pequins, Texas Pequin (a 9-plant chile hedge), Aji Chuncho, NagaBrain Red, NagaBrain Yellow, and the real nice surprise that stuck it out to the end of the season are the 6 plants of Spicegeist's Bonda Ma Jacques x 7 Pot Yellow. I've also got a couple of real interesting F2 plants of Spicegeist's Sonoran Chiltepin x Barrackpore 7 Pot—One plant is making little smooth pods I call "Barrackpore Pequins" and the other ones look and taste like miniature 7 Pots—I call them "Baby Barrackpores."
 
I'll get some pix up soon. Thanks so much for asking guys!

The Chiltepin/Barrakapore cross sounds awesome.  Would be cool to see pix of that one.  

 

[windchicken]

The Chiltepin/Barrakapore cross sounds awesome.  Would be cool to see pix of that one.  

 
Thanks! I'll snap some pix after work today, PG 
 
By the way, my brother is growing several plants of your Peruvian Market Aji Amarillo. He's mad for it!

 

[Devv]

Glad to see you Gary!
 
I must tell you the NagaBrain has been one of the best pod setters all season, gonna get some more pods soon

 

[windchicken]

Hey Scott! It's good to hear from you, too! Sorry I haven't been around….I'm glad you're having good luck with the NagaBrain…I'm anxious to check out your glog!
 
In response to PG's request for pix of the Tepin x Barrackpore cross, here's some shots from yesterday afternoon. I also snapped a couple more, since the light was so good—
 
"Baby Barrackpore" (F2 Sonoran Chiltepin x 7 Pot Barrackpore, from Spicegeist). Sorry I don't have any red pods right now. (I ate 'em all!) The heat level and flavor are real close to full-size Barrackpore. The only problem is the pods I'm getting have very few, tiny seeds. Needless to say, this plant will be overwintered:
 

 
(Next 2 photos) "Barrackpore Pequin". This is the other phenotype from Spicegeist's cross. As you can see, it a helluva producer, with plenty of seeds. The heat and flavor are Pequin-ish, with strong Barrackpore overtones:
 

 

 
An "arty" shot of Plant No. 7 (not the seed mother) of the F3 population of Spicegeist's Bonda Ma Jacques x 7 Pot Yellow. I find myself reaching for these pods more than any other of this season's super hot varieties:
 

 
Chile Manzano. This plant (not seeds, a plant, rattling around loose in a big box) was sent to me in the mail last year by my Facebook friend Carlos Orellana, a.k.a. the "Tatoo Fanatic", a.k.a. "Mr. Nasty", in Lompoc, California. It's been dropping purple blossoms all summer; and only began setting these pods a couple weeks ago, when the late summer heat broke. Something has been eating the new growth, as you can see, but I've been spraying it since the last damage was done. The plant is now approximately 5 feet tall x 5 feet wide:
 

 
This little guy was taking a break from collecting nectar and pollen on one of the Manzano leaves. I would love to get some of that chile pollen from his leg there….
 

 
NagaBrain Red, F3 Plant No. 15. These pods aren't nearly as potent as those from the seed mother (Plant No. 8), but I love the big fruit:
 

 
Zapotec Jalapeño, a variety which comes to us from the late, great Aji Queen herself, Beth Boyd, of Peppermania. Beth said this is the only variety of Jalapaño she would ever grow. I intend to carry on her tradition as long as I am growing chiles:
 

 
Zapotec Jalapeño. Most of my Zapotec crop goes for Chipotle production, using wood from the very pecan tree which towers over these plants:
 

 

[PaulG]

Wow, awesome plants, Gary.  Looks like a mid-summer grow here!
 
The barrakapore cross is way cool, especially the plant with
the christmas lights all over it!
 
Glad to hear the market Ajis are doing well for your bro.  
Do you remember if I sent you the bushy phenotype seeds
or the regular tall variety?

 

[windchicken]

Wow, awesome plants, Gary.  Looks like a mid-summer grow here!
 
The barrakapore cross is way cool, especially the plant with
the christmas lights all over it!
 
Glad to hear the market Ajis are doing well for your bro.  
Do you remember if I sent you the bushy phenotype seeds
or the regular tall variety?

 
Thanks bro! I'm air-drying a ton of those Barrackpore Pequins, so the seeds will be viable. There's no guarantee as to what they'll pop, as they will be the F3 generation of an inter-species cross, but there will be plenty of plants to select from, for those interested enough to grow it….
 
As for which Aji Amarillo you sent, I don't know…I may have a photo of the plant around here…It's tall and leggy, if that helps…Not as tall as the traditional "tree-type" Aji Amarillo, though, and with smaller pods…Flavor and heat level are just the same, though.